AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY TM Advancing Physics 2014 ANNUAL REPORT THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY STRIVES TO Be the leading voice for physics and an authoritative source of physics information for the advancement of physics and the benefit of humanity Collaborate with national scientific societies for the advancement of science, science education, and the science community Cooperate with international physics societies to promote physics, to support physicists worldwide, and to foster international collaboration Have an active, engaged, and diverse membership, and support the activities of its units and members TM © 2015 American Physical Society Cover image: Light angular momentum of a plane wave diffracted by a two-dimensional object [O. Emile et al., Phys. Rev. A 89, 013846 (2014)]. AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 1 t is not an exaggeration to say that 2014 was an historic year for APS. For the first time in 100 years, the Society carried out a major reform of its governance Iand executive structure. The reforms are intended to strengthen APS to meet the challenges facing the Society in the increasingly complex and rapidly evolving world in which we live. The changes also bring us into conformity with the statutes governing nonprofit corporations in Washington DC, where we continue to be incorporated. After a process that gave voice to all elements of our Society from the Executive Board to the Council to the Units and of course to the members, the reforms were approved by an overwhelming positive vote of the membership. This year the Society received the largest single gift in its history from Jay and Mary Jayne Jones of Seattle, Washington. It will be used to endow a new prize, The APS Medal for Exceptional Achievement in Research. This $50,000 prize will be the highest honor bestowed by the Society. Jay Jones is a person of remarkable personal character, with a love of physics and a deep appreciation for what physics research contributes to society. There have also been some changes in the top executive leadership of the Society. In August, Treasurer/Publisher Joe Serene stepped down and returned to teaching at Georgetown University. In December, Kate Kirby was voted by the new Board of Directors to become the first APS Chief Executive Officer, a new office created as the result of our corporate reform initiative. Implementation of the APS Strategic Plan continued this year. Under the leadership of the APS Industrial Fellow Steven Lambert, APS is exploring how to better meet the needs and interests of industrial physicists. With the strong participation of the APS Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics (FIAP), APS held a Workshop on National Issues in Industrial Physics to further define issues of importance to our industrial members, and a set of recommendations for the Society is being drafted. In closing, let me say that it has been an honor and enormously satisfying to serve as the President of APS. It has been a year of significant change and accomplishment that I am unlikely to forget. I want to thank everyone who contributed to making this year so successful. Sincerely yours, Malcolm R Beasley 2014 President 2 AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT Editorial Office hysical Review Applied (PRApplied), APS’s newest journal debuted in 2014. PRApplied’s mission is to publish the highest quality papers at the intersection Pof physics and engineering that are of interest to a large group of physicists. Well on its way to achieving that goal, PRApplied has now published over 100 pa- pers and has been accepted into the Web of Science. Also in February a new design for the journal websites was rolled out, optimized for display across mobile devices. In summer 2014, the roles of Physical Review X (PRX) and Physical Review Let- ters (PRL) were more clearly defined. A PRX “visiting committee” recommended that PRX remain a small, selective journal, offering authors a high-visibility open- access option for publishing key individual articles of longer length. As APS’s flag- ship journal, PRL will continue to cover significant research across the full spec- trum of physics, with broad dissemination and high visibility for shorter articles. Maintaining PRL’s high submission standards by rigorously enforcing its accep- tance criteria has been an ongoing and successful effort throughout 2014. The last stage of the new Editorial Office building was completed, and by the end of the year, the editorial staff were well-established in their stylish and spacious new home. PHOTO: DAVID SUNBER AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 3 Scientific Meetings ttendance was strong at the 2014 APS March and April meetings. The March Meeting, held in Denver, Colorado, drew 9,300 U.S. and international physi- Acists and continued the pattern of growth in attendance over the last five years. More than 8,800 papers were presented in invited and contributed talks and in poster sessions. The total number of attendees included over 4,000 students and more than 2,500 international members. A program highlight was The Fred Kavli Special Symposium, “The Many Electron Problem—Where are We Now?”. The April Meeting was held in Savannah, Georgia. Over 1,300 physicists at- tended and presented approximately 1100 invited and contributed talks and also posters. This meeting also contained a Fred Kavli Special Symposium, “The Mys- teries of Mass.” In addition, there was also a special Town Hall Meeting, “Re-Imag- ining the April Meeting,” to get feedback for the future of this meeting. Throughout 2014 there were many other scientific meetings sponsored by APS units, including the divisions of Nuclear Physics, Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, Fluid Dynamics, and Plasma Physics, as well as a number of meetings sponsored by topical groups and sections. The Mid-Atlantic Section held its inau- gural meeting. Media Relations PS journals, meetings, programs, and members are the leading sources of phys- ics news worldwide. APS Media Relations strives to distribute Society news to Amajor print, broadcast, and online media outlets through press releases, press conferences, webcasts, and online resources for journalists. At a press conference held at the APS March Meeting 2014 in Dallas, TX, Pierre-Thomas Brun (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) presented a new model describing the intricate physics of the lasso. PHOTO: MIKE LUCIBELLA 4 AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT Public Affairs n 2014, as in past years, the APS Office of Public Affairs (OPA) focused its activities on policy analysis and advocacy that reflected priorities set by its two Iadvisory committees: the Panel on Public Affairs and the Physics Policy Com- mittee. Following their guidance, OPA continued its focus on promoting federal support for research and education, facilitated an update of the APS Climate State- ment, engaged on rules governing “Open ‘Access” and “Open Data,” advocated for easing of conference travel restrictions on federal and national laboratory employ- ees, supported the National Science Foundation in its defense against House Sci- ence, Space, and Technology Committee attacks, and developed a pilot program to improve availability of liquid helium for the research community. OPA ex- ploited media strategies, grassroots lobbying, congres- sional testimony, and collaborations with science and technology partners in Washington. In spite of extraordinarily low congressional productivity and severe budgetary strictures, APS and its science and technology partners were reasonably successful in their advocacy for federal science support. The OPA assisted more than 50 APS unit leaders in making Capitol Hill visits prior to the annual leadership convocation and Public Affairs Director Michael Lubell continued as a bi-monthly contributor to Roll Call, a leading Capitol Hill newspaper. Finally, in order to begin to address the shortage of science expertise in the U.S. Department of Education, OPA helped establish the APS/AIP STEM Education Policy Fellowship in the department’s Office. APS members provided more than 7,200 signatures on letters to Congress as a result of OPA’s grassroots efforts. Staff also aided APS members in writing and placing op-eds in newspapers throughout the U.S. (see the San Jose Mercury News above). PHOTO: TAWANDA W. JOHNSON AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 5 Public Outreach PS Outreach had another big year in 2014. We continued our mission to pro- mote science literacy and physics engagement to a diverse audience. The Spec- Atra comic book series published its 6th issue, Spectra’s Quantum Leap, which pits Spectra and her pals against the accidental creations of Ms. Pauli Black, aka the Quantum Mechanic. The new edition was as popular as ever at Comic-Con International in San Diego. 2014 also saw the third USA Science and Engineering Festival. APS Outreach led a collaboration with The Optical Society, the American Institute of Physics, the Society of Physics Students, and the American Association of Physics Teachers, to bring “Big Top Physics” to the eager attendees. Events included a bed of nails and a “Frozen” sing-a-long accompanied by a musical Tesla coil. Hard at work, our 2014 Outreach Mini-Grant awardees have produced some innovative and exciting outreach programs. The APS outreach website, www.phys- icscentral.com, received over a million hits in 2014 and continues to be a leading source for engaging the public and disseminating physics information. The Outreach Mini-Grant awardee Guerilla Science created an Intergalactic Travel Bureau to help passers- Tiny Batmen love the Spectra comic by plan vacations to such spots as the moon or Mars. series at Comic-Con International, Vacationers learned about the complexities of space held every year in San Diego, travel and the challenges of inhabiting other planets and California. With over 125,000 even sent postcards to loved ones from their fictional attendees daily, it is the largest comic destinations.